Starbucks gives a little extra on Tuesday’s and by the pound

The folks from Seattle provide a couple of examples of marketing lagniappe (a little something extra for good measure).

John Miller shares #9 in the Purple Goldfish Project.   The free cup of brewed coffee with a pound of beans at Starbucks.

“Not only is it a $2 perceived value, it is instant gratification and appreciation of the brand/ product.”

Peg Connor makes some music with #40 in the Project.

“Starbucks, in partnership with iTunes, gives away a free “pick of the week” song every tuesday…you load the code into your iphone and, bingo, you’ve just expanded your musical palate at no charge. I take pains to patronize local businesses, but this perk (pun intended) compels me to stop by Starbucks once a week.”

Episode #3 – The Five Main Ingredients of Marketing Lagniappe and a trip to the first Purple Goldfish Hall of Fame Inductee the Doubletree Hotel

I’m joined by wingman Jack Campisi (a.k.a ‘Social Jack’ or ‘Maverick’) on the podcast.

Here is a rundown of the video podcast:

- We discuss the five main ingredients of marketing lagniappe: Relevant, Unexpected, Limited, Expressive and Sticky

- We take a road trip to a Doubletree Hotel

- We discuss the Doubletree Chocolate Chip Cookie (over 200 million served)

HELP me catch another 709 purple goldfish for a great cause.  FISHERMEN WANTED: Click here to send me your example.

Ola! Granola developed out of a marketing lagniappe

Ken and Dina Houser are principals of DK Design Partners. The husband and wife team have run their design agency for over a decade. After many years of the usual client gift fare, they decided to do something special for DK’s customers

Dina’s mother had made granola for years and Dina followed in her footsteps. The light bulb went off and they decided to pack up jars of the granola as gifts. Developing a unique added value for customers gets them nominated as #291 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

Dina’s secret oat concoction garnered rave reviews and has since spawned a new business.  Over the last two years they’ve developed a business selling Ola! Granola.  They are off to a fantastic start.  You won’t get shortchanged on nuts and fruit, plus they only use maple syrup as a natural sweetener.  Look for their granola in a store near you.

A sweet example of marketing lagniappe

Beaver Creek Ski Resort (#129 in Purple Goldfish Project submitted by Drew Grieco)

“Every day at 3pm, Beaver Creek’s cookie time chefs serve hot, chocolate chip cookies at the base of the Centennial Chairlift (Chair #6). The perfect ending to a perfect day.”

I love the fact that you have to be ‘in the know’ and show up at an exact time to get your ‘purple goldfish’.

SKI Magazine ranks Beaver Creek among the top 10 best ski resorts in the U.S. and the National Ski Area Association has recognized the resort with the Best Overall Customer Service Program award for three consecutive years.  A job well done.

Are you giving a little unexpected extra?

I was just reading a tremendous post by Rohit Bhargava over at Influential Marketing.  As part of ‘Make a Referral Week’, Rohit talks about the 5 ways you can jump start the referral engine:

So the question you need to ask yourself (especially for Referral Week) is how you can make YOUR business easier for someone to share with a friend, family member or colleague. In other words, you need to be easier to recommend! Here are 5 tips you should consider to help you achieve that:

Free Cleaning for Life

One of the nice extras that Tiffany provides (in addition to the little blue box) involves free lifetime cleaning of your rings.  This comes in at #232 in the Purple Goldfish Project.

From the Tiffany.com site:

“Tiffany offers complimentary cleaning to keep your ring as beautiful as it was the
day you received it. An expert will check your stone’s setting and give your ring a
thorough cleaning.”

My wife and I will stop by once or twice a year and drop off our rings. Come back in an hour or two and they’ve given you a complimentary steam, buff and polish. A nice touch and a very purple goldfish.

Please RT —>

The 5th Top 10 List from #201-#250

We’ve hit the 250 mark in the Purple Goldfish Project.  With a goal of 1,001 examples we’ve just whizzed by the 10k mark of the marathon (a marathon is 42K if you are curious).

Lots of strong examples in this crop of 50.  It was hard to choose the 10, but here are the ones that made the cut:

Episode #2 – How Lagniappe Fits into Overall Marketing, a Roadtrip to Stew Leonard’s and a Review of the ‘New Rules of Marketing & PR’

I’m joined by wingman Jack Campisi (a.k.a ‘Social Jack’ or ‘Maverick’) on the podcast.

Here is a rundown of the video podcast:

- We discuss how ‘lagniappe’ fits into the overall marketing scheme

- We look at the example of Southwest Airlines and ‘Bags Fly Free’

- We talk about how a purple goldfish needs to relevant and seen as ‘added value’

- Roadtrip to Stew Leonard’s to talk about coffee, ice cream and free samples

-  A review of David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing & PR

Besito uses a Guatemalan worry doll as one its unique signature Purple Goldfish

Besito means ‘little kiss’ in Spanish.  It’s also the name of an authentic mexican restaurant based in Roslyn, New York.  I met Lilliam Villafane De Giacomo the other day and she waxed poetic about Besito.  She spoke of the amazing food, but paid special attention to two added value items.  At the end of the meal the restaurant hands out wrapped churros and little worry dolls.

The following excerpt from a NYT Review posted on their website mentions the churros and worry dolls.

“The best dessert was the churros given gratis to every table. The warm, long spirals of fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar were delivered in a white paper bag. Along with them we were given tiny Mexican “worry dolls” to be put under our pillows to take away worries. My only worry was the amount of delicious food I’d just eaten.”

Here is another review from slapphappe:

Complimentary toner vacuuming and tootsie pops are the little extras

Develop a service that’s convenient, good for the environment and saves you money.  Then deliver it with a couple purple goldfish. That’s the order of the day for the folks at Cartridge World.

Here is #249 in the Purple Goldfish Project submitted by EJ Kritz:

Cartridge World

“To begin, we’re in the business of refilling and remanufacturing printer cartridges. We offer a free delivery service to our business customers during which time plenty of things can happen opening the door for added value.